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As I entered my favorite little country store, I could tell that something unusual was going on. Two men in suits were standing on either side of the door and a classy luxury car was parked out front. The owner of the store looked at me and pointed down the center aisle. Phil was smiling, so I let my curiosity lead me in the direction he … Read more &raquo

My daughter, Sam, and I were having a late dinner at a popular deli in a popular neighborhood in Richmond, Virginia. We were seated near the door and I had the view of patrons entering and leaving. A party of four came in and stood for some time waiting to be seated. All four were middle-aged and up -- three men wearing baseball caps and a woman. The baseball caps … Read more &raquo

My teen-aged daughter and I were spending a few days in NYC some years ago. One very cool, very rainy afternoon we braved the conditions and went walking in midtown armed with umbrellas and tightly fastened coats.

There were few pedestrians on the sidewalks, but in the block ahead I noticed a woman walking toward us. She was tall and slender. She had no umbrella and, as she got … Read more &raquo

January 2011. One month before the earthquake that was about to change EVERYTHING, I had one of the best experiences of my life. A very good friend from Canada was visiting me in Christchurch and we decided to grab some tickets for the Public Enemy concert that was randomly about to happen (Christchurch is super white and ultra conservative, so it really was bizarre that they were touring there). I … Read more &raquo

In 1973 on a ferry from Vancouver to Victoria, sat beside the Beach Boys in the dining room. Two fifteen year old girls - stoned. We were talking about the Beach Boys concert we were on our way to see - and the fact that we didn't have tickets yet. They started flirting with us, teasing us about the concert and we didn't recognize them. To be … Read more &raquo

I was about 23, living in LA, when my best friend came to visit. We were eating in Westwood, when we see a black SUV pull up right in front of the restaurant. Jack Black emerges, along with that blond guy who is in his band (and has been in movies with him). They both looked exactly the same as they do on-screen, rockin' their little beer bellies... My best … Read more &raquo

So, you can imagine my surreal thrill when, working a catering gig at a house with a backyard that looks onto the tee box of number 14 at Pebble Beach, I saw D.A. Points and Bill Murray’s party approaching. I’d just delivered a vodka cran to George Lopez on 14’s fairway, and Lopez had kissed me, told me … Read more &raquo

I was studying in London for a semester and was at the National Theatre for the second time that week, a location which I never failed to mentally epilogue with a determinedly American “ER,” and therefore habit that was beginning to annoy the people around me just as their shyly exponential usage of “queue” was beginning to annoy me. We were waiting around to take a tour in, around, up, … Read more &raquo

I was studying in London for a semester and was at the National Theatre for the second time that week, a location which I never failed to mentally epilogue with a determinedly American “ER,” and therefore habit that was beginning to annoy the people around me just as their shyly exponential usage of “queue” was beginning to annoy me. We were waiting around to take a tour in, around, up, … Read more &raquo

I was at a gig for Keith Morris' (Black Flag, Circle Jerks) new band OFF! I idolize Keith and was able to catch him shopping for records and got a picture (that messed up on my phone. Curse myself to this day) with him and told him I am a big fan of all his work and he thanked me.

I was working a banquet as a server. The event was a fundraiser for a human rights organization. I wanted to listen but was shooed out by our manager. No workers were to stay in the banquet hall during the speeches. I snuck in the back service door and crouched down behind a buffet table covered in the standard table linens. For a while I listened, empowered by the speeches … Read more &raquo

I found Joyce McKinney in Washington Square Park with one of her famous cloned Rottweilers. She sat in an electric wheelchair and was dressed in a fringed neon pink suit jacket with a matching skirt that hung loose over her knees. Her hair was bright yellow and damaged. It was eleven at night, a Tuesday in October.
I am a huge Errol Morris fan. Three of my friends and … Read more &raquo

I was pleased to make a larger than usual donation to the Boise public radio station in order to get an invite to the after-show meet and greet with the great Garrison Keiller. He shook my hand firmly. I froze--what could I say that didn't sound cloying and stupid? I looked him in the eye and said, "I have a new son, we adopted him straight from … Read more &raquo

When I was a teenager back in the 1960's, I would take the bus east to Beverly Hills so that I could study at the public library there. I found more resources at this more affluent library than the one closer to my home. One Saturday, when I had finished studying, I was walking back to the bus stop for my trip home. Rather than my usual route, I chose … Read more &raquo

We went to see Break of Noon at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, starring David Duchovny. We lived nearby and, as avid Californication fans, we couldn’t pass up the opportunity to see Duchovny on stage.
Afterwards, we filed outside into the brisk evening air where Duchovny fans hovered nearby with cameras, excitedly awaiting his exit. The temptation to join them flickered through my mind before I dismissed it.
“I … Read more &raquo

Back somewhere in the middle 1990s, my fraternity held our Spring formal at a Holiday Inn in downtown Shreveport, Louisiana.

It was late in the evening - more likely early in the morning. One of the ladies in our group wanted to get back in her room since her beau was busy doing "whatever" and still going strong. A few of us escorted her back to her room … Read more &raquo

I saw him at the grocery store. It was the day after President Obama's inauguration and spirits were high and hopeful in the progressive little college town where he and I live. Though the day meant a lot to many people, for him, I imagine it carried a more bitter than sweet significance. He was coiffed - his hair was touseled, his jeans were pressed. He looked good, maybe … Read more &raquo

My co-worker and I had concocted a plan to go to the state fair, ride some rides, and watch our favorite band, Lifehouse, perform. I was a teenager trying to figure out life, she was a working mom, and Lifehouse was the link that kept us sane.

Once there, we did the normal fair type things: Ate junk food, rode the carousel, screamed profanities while on the thing-that-spins-you-around-so-fast-you're-sure-you'll-die. … Read more &raquo